A busy day yesterday on our first big art trip to the Galleria Balmain exhibition and shop in Shoreditch.
Really nice to meet some actual artists in person for the first time in over a year, and nice to see the gallery space in person. Impressed with the quality and imaginative quality of most of the art too, it is clear that many of the artists have been artists for many years or decades, the art on show had a great depth of imagination and power (not all, but most). Some of these are great works and clearly going to be worth a lot more one day. This is a slow start though, and the gallery has big and long term plans including the international exhibitions. I have a positive feeling about all of it. I gave a quick phone interview with a journalist about the exhibition today, too.
Have spent today working furiously on admin work for my Neorenaissance exhibition in Nantwich, creating a final list of works with sizes, prices, images, and contacting various people involved - over 10 others, which is quite a lot for a solo exhibition. This is all, again, a good sign.
I've also heard of a new music event in Congleton, developed as a showcase for Deb and I, what an honour! We're already looking forward to it and will create new work for it... I really need a new digital piano or synth. My piano is great, but rather heavy and a little delicate, with its fancy hammer action. I'd prefer something lighter and easier to carry for live performance. For actual playing I sometimes prefer light and springy keys. The Reface DX keyboard is amazingly good. I can't say why its better than the Microkorg and every other little keyboard but it certainly is. I need £1200 for this.
I'm still reading, as I do constantly in cycle, Beethoven: Anguish and Triumph and have now bought Thayer's Life of Beethoven too, for its reproductions of some full letters. I need a prince to request some florins from. How fortunate we are not to have to spend a fortune to create art... though of course, digitally. Things in the real world are far more valuable, partly because they cost more to create. I will certainly press my music onto CD when I can. Big record companies really need to get together and develop either a new music format, or persuade the world of the value of CDs or records again (cars need CD players, houses need CD players, or both need something new and standardised). The tech giants may hammer these formats due to self-interest, but I am sure that music's interest is, partly but certainly, in physical media.
